The night belonged to Harmanpreet Kaur – and she made sure the celebrations matched the magnitude of India’s historic triumph. With Punjabi blaring over the loudspeaker, dhols echoing, the captain scowling in dark glasses and a hoodie, Harmanpreet was pure atmosphere. Usually an introverted personality, Harmanpreet let her hair down as the women in blue turned the World Cup after-party into a full-blown bhangra bash.
Harmanpreet Kaur gets emotional after leading India to World Cup glory
The Indian women’s cricket team, led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, secured their maiden World Cup victory with a 52-run victory over South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. The historic achievement was marked by emotional celebrations as Harmanpreet took the final catch at midnight, creating a milestone in the history of Indian sports.Harmanpreet showed a range of emotions after taking the winning catch, running across the pitch before standing back to watch her team celebrate. She later shared an emotional moment with coach Amol Muzumdar and former players Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.Click here to play the video.The victory celebration reached its climax when Harmanpreet and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana hugged Jhulan Goswami and dedicated the win to her saying “Didi, Yeh Aapke liye thaa.”And when Harmanpreet spoke at the post-match presentation ceremony, she didn’t lose sight of the macro picture of what it means to be the first women’s team to do the unthinkable.“This is the beginning. We wanted to break that barrier. And our next plan is to make it a habit. We’ve been waiting for it, now this moment has arrived. So many great opportunities are coming and we want to keep getting better. This is not the end, just the beginning,” the captain said.Captaincy is a lot about planning, but just like Kapil Dev was on June 25, 1983, whose gut told him to give one more Madan Lal against the rampaging Vivian Richards.Harmanpreet felt it on Sunday and her trump card was Shafali Verma, who could perhaps do no wrong.“When Laura and Sune were batting, they looked really good. I just saw Shafali standing there and the way she was batting, I knew it was our day.
Vote
How do you feel about Harmanpreet Kaur’s leadership in the World Cup final?
“I thought I had to go with my gut feeling. My heart was saying, I have to give her at least one over. And that was the turning point for us. They panicked a bit at the end and that’s where we conceded (in). Deepti came at the right time and took those wickets.”Shafali bowled 14 overs in her entire international ODI career and took two vital wickets on the day.“When she came into the team we spoke to her that we might need 2-3 overs and she said if you bowl me I’ll bowl ten overs. Credit goes to her, she was so positive and there for the team. Say hello to her.”
